Hair styling tool

ABSTRACT

Styling tools and methods achieve polished-looking, ponytail hair styles even with thick, textured, coiled or kinky hair types. A tubular sleeve of flexible material includes adjustable front and back openings. A user position the sleeve such that the front opening is proximate to the hairline, using the tool to compress and smooth the hair until a desired ponytail style is achieved, at which time the back opening is cinched around the base of the ponytail. Different embodiments facilitate high- and low-pony styles. The tool is easily moved and removed once a desired hair style has been established, reducing excessive manipulation and pulling on the hair, while minimizing stress and breakage to the delicate edges around the hairline.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to hair styling and, in particular, to a hair styling tool well suited to thick, textured, coiled or kinky hair types.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many African American women are choosing to discontinue the use of chemicals and other methods to straighten their hair, and are maintaining their hair in its natural state. These hair textures are widely varying, with the vast majority being extremely coarse and “kinky.” Curl patterns range from loose, to very tightly coiled and coarse, to very fine and delicate.

Hair is prone to breakage if not cared for properly, which is often time consuming. Because of this, hair is worn in many “protective styles,” one of which is a ponytail or ‘up-do.’ Once styled, it is worn this way for several days to a week or more to avoid having to manipulate and style the hair on a more frequent basis.

Ponytails can also cause hair breakage and stress especially if pulled too tightly. Tensile stress can lead to serious hair loss conditions, such as traction alopecia, which can be caused by wearing tight hairstyles for a long period of time.

Conventional ponytail forming methods employ combing, brushing, and manually pulling and manipulating the hair back (or up) to gather and grab a bundle of hair with one hand. The other hand is then used to place an elastic band or some other hair tie to secure the hair at the base of ponytail. After smoothing down the edges with continued brushing and application of gels and other hair holding products, the hair is secured with the use of a hair wrap or scarf, both of which are often tightened.

Existing hair wraps assist in holding a portion of the hair in place. A scarf is typically then used over the hair wrap in an attempt to apply some pressure to the top of the head/style to keep the hair in its shape until it is dry and set into place. Once the hair has set, the scarf and/or wrap is removed, and the hair styled into the desired finished look.

The above-described method is problematic in achieving desired results for several reasons. First, traditional methods pull tightly on the edges of the hair line, causing breakage, and the amount of brushing and combing to get hair to the point it can be gathered and secured causes additional breakage and stress on the hair. Second, existing hair scarves and wraps to do not provide adequate coverage and compression of hair into style to achieve desired results. Generally, they fail to adequately cover the full circumference of the wearer's hairline, particularly around the ears and at the base of the neck. Conventional scarfs and wraps also cannot be applied in such a way as to compress and maintain pressure on the top of the hair to achieve the desired result.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention improves upon existing tools and techniques by providing styling tools and methods that achieve polished-looking, ponytail hair styles while limiting the need for many other styling products. Use of the invention reduces excessive manipulation and pulling on the hair, and minimizes stress and breakage to the delicate edges around the hairline.

A hair styling tool according to the invention a comprises a tubular sleeve of flexible material having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a length between front and back openings. The openings are sufficiently large to enable a user to pull the sleeve over the head during positioning of the tool. At least a portion of the front opening includes an elastic band, and the tool further includes a mechanism enabling a user to adjust the size of the back opening.

The tool is used to gather and shape the hair to establish a desired style, as well as to protect and maintain style. In operation, a user pulls the sleeve over their head from back to front, with the front opening first followed by the back opening. At this point the user may optionally apply any desired styling products to the hair as desired such as styling gels. The sleeve is then pulled partially back over the head from front to back such that the front opening corresponds to a user's hairline and the back opening is facing the hair. As the back opening is moved up the hair into position, the elastic drawstring is tightened, effectively bundling the hair and shaping it to the head. As the opening is moved into final position of the ponytail base location, the hair bundle has been reduced to a size that can be secured, and the formation of the ponytail is complete. Once the desired ponytail style has been established, the back opening is loosened, and the tool is removed.

In preferred embodiments, the elastic band is user-adjustable and positioned on the front, lower portion of the sleeve. The mechanism enabling a user to adjust the size of the back opening may comprise a cord locking device attached to a drawstring.

For ‘high-pony’ styles, the length is a consistent distance between the front and back openings, such that the sleeve forms a cylinder. For ‘low-pony’ styles, the length between the front and back openings is larger on the upper portion of the sleeve as compared to the lower portion of the sleeve, such that the sleeve forms a truncated cylinder.

The disclosed styling tools are particularly suited to ponytails and up-dos specifically targeting thick, textured, coiled or kinky hair types. The use of compression textiles incorporating an elastic smoothing/cinching opening allows the tool to achieve desired ponytail style with reduced stress to the hair, particularly the hairline edges.

The tool holds the hair in place, allowing the user to secure the ponytail using the method of their choosing. Once the hair has set, the tool can be easily removed without disturbing the set style, by releasing the locking mechanism and removing from the top and back of the head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a drawing that illustrates one embodiment of the invention configured to form a ‘high-pony’ hair style;

FIG. 1B depicts an embodiment of the invention configured to form a ‘low-pony’ hair style;

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3A is a drawing that shows the invention pulled forwardly over the head prior to final positioning;

FIG. 3B shows the invention pulled backwardly over the head prior to ponytail gathering;

FIG. 3C shows how the sliding motion of the tool and the reduction in size of the back opening work to smooth and compress the hair into the desired style;

FIG. 4A shows the tool of FIGS. 1A, 2A tightened for a high-pony style; and,

FIG. 4B shows the tool of FIGS. 1B, 2B tightened for a low-pony style.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of the invention configured for a ‘high-pony’ style depicted in FIG. 4A. The tool 100 comprises a sleeve of flexible material 102 sewn or otherwise formed into a tubular shape having an open front end 104, an open back end 106 and a length 100. Since the sleeve is intended to be pulled over the head and hair as shown in FIG. 3A prior to positioning, the openings at the front and back should be sufficiently large to accommodate the circumference of a human head; that is, on the order of 20 or more inches. In the preferred embodiment, the openings 104, 106 comfortably extend or stretch to about 25 inches.

The material comprising the sleeve 102 may be any suitable flexible cloth of fabric, whether natural, synthetic or a combination thereof, including stretchable materials. In preferred embodiments a waterproof or tightly woven material is used, and construction is achieved through convention machine stitching. The material may be plain or decorated in any number of colors or patterns, and the entire tool is preferably machine washable.

The front end of the sleeve 100 includes a tensioning band 108, and the back of the sleeve includes an adjustable cinching device such as sliding cord-lock fastener 116 coupled to a drawstring sewn circumferentially around the back opening 106. The cord-lock fastener 116 may typically include a push button 118 for adjustment purposes. The cord/drawstring may or not be elastic or stretchable. A non-stretchable cord/drawstring may simply require more ongoing user adjustments as the tool shapes the hair, as described in further detail below.

In the preferred embodiments, band 108 is also made of a stretchable material such as elastic. Further, while band 108 may be implemented as a continuous, circumferential sewn-in band, for example, in preferred embodiments the band 108 is length-adjustable, and occupies only a portion of a lower section of the sleeve and perhaps best seen on FIGS. 2A, B. This configuration is easier to fabricate, with anchors at points 110, which allowing for a smooth upper edge that overlaps with the hairline. The adjustment may be provided with a mechanism such as a double D-ring connecter 112. Other adjustment mechanisms may alternatively be used, however, such as hook-and-loop fasteners sewn to the loose ends of the bands 108.

The length L of the sleeve 102 is chosen so as to be long enough of cover a top and side portions of the hair while allowing the ponytail to extend beyond back opening 106. Thus, for most individuals L will be in the range of 6 to 12 inches, more preferably about 7 inches or thereabouts.

Whereas the length L of the high-pony embodiment of FIG. 1 is substantially consistent, thereby forming a flexible cylinder of material, for low-pony styles the length between the front and back openings varies, with the length L1 of the upper portion being longer than the length L2 the lower portion, thereby forming a flexible, truncated right cylindrical shape 120 as shown in FIG. 1B. In this embodiment, L1 is in the range of 8 to 12 inches to cover the top and a part of the back of the head, whereas L2 may be on the order of 3 to 6 inches to cover the area just above the back of the neck. In the preferred embodiment, L1 is about 10 inches and L2 is about 4 inches. Note that the invention is not limited to these two configurations between high- and low-pony styles, as any angle(s) between the front and back openings may alternatively be used depending upon desired ponytail placement.

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1B. FIGS. 3A-4B illustrate the way in which the tools of FIGS. 1A-2B would be positioned. As shown in FIG. 3A, the entire sleeve is pulled over the head with cord lock 116 in the rear and the front opening oriented forwardly. The sleeve may be pulled completely over the head as shown, or partially over the head so long as the hairline is cleared. At this point, any desired styling products may be applied to assist in setting a desired style.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the sleeve is pulled back over the hair, positioning the sleeve with the back opening at the base of the hairline. With the front opening remaining proximate to the hairline, the back opening is moved backwardly over the hair while simultaneously constricting the size of the back opening. Again, this may be done through manual adjustments of the cord lock, the elasticity of the drawstring or a combination of both. Regardless, the idea is to smooth and compress the hair that will be in front of the ponytail until a final ponytail style is established.

By virtue of the invention, no further combing or brushing is needed and the hair in front of the ponytail is compressed and smoothed. As the tool is moved up and into position as shown in FIG. 3C, the sliding motion of the back opening as it is reduced in diameter, in conjunction with the tension of the material and cord lock work to smooth and compress the hair into the desired style. Once the sleeve is moved into final position, the cord lock 116 is tightened into position where the base of the ponytail will be located.

FIG. 4A shows the tool of FIGS. 1A, 2A tightened for a high-pony style, whereas FIG. 4B shows the tool of FIGS. 1B, 2B tightened for a low-pony style. The hair can then be tied with the elastic or hair tie, and the hair is allowed to set as with conventional methods.

Once set, the tool may be removed without disturbing the set style, by releasing the cord lock mechanism and removing the sleeve from the head. The hair is then styled into the desired finished look. Loosening of the elastic band 108 may or may not be required for removal.

The invention saves considerable time. Whereas conventional methods take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes or more to manipulate and comb/brush the hair into a shape sufficient to manually grab and form a ponytail, use of the invention consumes an average of 5 minutes from start to finish. The elastic smoothing function does not snag or pull at the hair as it is covered with fabric. This helps to smooth and lay the hair into place without the additional pulling, stress and tightness around the hair line edges, thereby reducing potential breakage and damage, while helping to preserve more of the hair. The unit also incorporates the function of the hair wrap and/or scarf that is needed to set the style. Additionally, less styling product is required by the user to achieve the style resulting in a potential savings on hair styling products. 

1. A hair styling tool, comprising: a tubular sleeve of flexible material having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a length between front and back openings; wherein the dimensions of the openings are within a range enabling a user to pull the sleeve over their head; wherein at least a portion of the front opening includes a tensioning band; and a mechanism enabling a user to adjust the size of the back opening.
 2. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the tensioning band is disposed on the front, lower portion of the sleeve.
 3. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the tensioning band is user adjustable.
 4. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the tensioning band is an elastic band.
 5. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the mechanism enabling a user to adjust the size of the back opening comprises a drawstring with a cord locking device.
 6. The hair styling tool of claim 5, wherein the drawstring is an elastic drawstring.
 7. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the front and back openings have a circumference in the range of 20 to 25 inches.
 8. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the length is a consistent distance between the front and back openings such that the sleeve forms a cylinder.
 9. The hair styling tool of claim 1, wherein the length between the front and back openings is larger on the upper portion of the sleeve as compared to the lower portion of the sleeve such that the sleeve forms a truncated cylinder.
 10. A method of styling hair, comprising the steps of: providing the sleeve of claim 1; pulling the sleeve over a user's head from back to front with the front opening first followed by the back opening; pulling the sleeve partially back over the head from front to back such that the front opening corresponds to a user's hairline; with the front opening remaining in position, moving the sleeve over the hair while reducing the size of the back opening so as to smooth and compress the hair; and continuing to smooth and compress the hair until the back opening corresponds to the base of a desired ponytail location.
 11. The method of claim 10, including the step of opening the back opening and removing the sleeve once a desired ponytail style has been established.
 12. The method of claim 10, further including the step of adjusting the tensioning band prior to, or after, closing the back opening.
 13. A method of styling hair, comprising the steps of: providing the sleeve of claim 7; pulling the sleeve over a user's head from back to front with the front opening first followed by the back opening; pulling the sleeve partially back over the head from front to back such that the front opening corresponds to a user's hairline; with the front opening remaining in position, moving the sleeve over the hair while reducing the size of the back opening so as to smooth and compress the hair; and continuing to smooth and compress the hair until the back opening corresponds to the base of a desired ponytail location.
 14. The method of claim 10, including the step of opening the back opening and removing the sleeve once a desired ponytail style has been established.
 15. The method of claim 10, further including the step of adjusting the tensioning band prior to, or after, closing the back opening. 